Casino Royale (2006): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

Casino Royale (2006), directed by Martin Campbell, is about James Bond earning his 00 status and then facing a banker who funds terrorists across a poker table. The film is the 21st entry in the official series and the one that sends Bond to a card game with a national treasury's money on the line.

In Prague, Bond kills a corrupt MI6 section chief and his contact, and that earns him 00 status. He then tracks a bomb maker and stops an attack on a prototype airliner at Miami airport. The trail leads to Le Chiffre, a banker who handles money for terrorists and who lost a huge sum when the attack failed.

To win that money back, Le Chiffre sets up a high stakes poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. MI6 stakes Bond in the game, and Treasury agent Vesper Lynd goes with him to watch the money.

If you are placing the film in the saga, it follows Die Another Day and comes before Quantum of Solace in the James Bond movies in order list. Anyone searching for the spoof should head to Casino Royale (1967) instead.

In Casino Royale (2006), James Bond earns 00 status, beats the terrorist banker Le Chiffre at a poker tournament in Montenegro, loses Vesper Lynd in Venice, and finally confronts Mr. White. The story runs through seven stages, each one handing Bond a new problem.

1. Prague. Bond's first two kills, a traitorous MI6 section chief and the contact working with him, win him the double-0 license.

2. The bomb maker and Miami. Bond chases a bomb maker, and the chase exposes a plot against a prototype airliner at Miami airport. Bond stops the attack. The man behind it is Le Chiffre, who funds terrorists, and the failed plot leaves him short of a fortune he was holding for the warlord Steven Obanno.

3. The tournament. With Obanno waiting to be repaid, Le Chiffre organizes a Texas hold 'em tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. MI6 sends Bond to beat him there. Treasury agent Vesper Lynd travels with him and carries the buy in. Early on, Le Chiffre reads Bond's tell and Bond loses his stake. CIA agent Felix Leiter steps in with more money, Bond returns to the table, and he wins the pot.

4. The torture room. Winning does not end it. Le Chiffre kidnaps Vesper and tortures Bond for the account password. Mr. White, a figure from a larger organization, arrives, kills Le Chiffre and lets Bond and Vesper live.

5. A life that does not happen. Bond recovers, resigns from MI6 and plans a future with Vesper. Then the winnings vanish, and Bond believes Vesper betrayed him.

6. Venice. Bond follows her to the city, where gunmen trap her in a building sinking into the canal. Vesper locks herself inside a sinking elevator cage and drowns. Mr. White escapes with the money.

7. Lake Como. M (Judi Dench) tells Bond that Vesper was forced to act as a double agent to protect the man she loved. Bond tracks Mr. White to a lakeside estate in Italy, shoots him in the leg and introduces himself by name.

Casino Royale (2006) had its UK premiere on 16 November 2006 (reported) and its US release on 17 November 2006 (confirmed). Australia followed on 7 December 2006 (reported).

The film carries a PG-13 rating in the US, a 12A in the UK and an M in Australia.

On the money side, Box Office Mojo lists a budget of $150 million. The film earned $167 million domestically and $439 million internationally, for $606 million worldwide. Every film in the series has a gross to measure against, and the james bond box office rankings set them side by side.

Casino Royale is release order and chronological order number 21 among the EON films, so a viewer watching in either order reaches it after Die Another Day. A full marathon of the series starts with the James Bond movies hub.

Casino Royale (2006) ends with Bond learning that Vesper was coerced into betraying him, then hunting down Mr. White and introducing himself as Bond, James Bond. The final stretch breaks into four steps, and each one changes how Bond reads the story.

Step one is Venice. Vesper dies in the sinking building after locking herself inside the elevator cage, and Mr. White escapes with the money. Step two is the explanation from M: Vesper was forced to act as a double agent to protect the man she loved, and she probably traded the money to save Bond's life. Step three, Bond goes back to work and finds Mr. White at an estate on Lake Como. Step four, he shoots White in the leg and gives his name.

What does it all mean? In my opinion, the closing line lands harder because of the order of events. Bond resigns from MI6 and plans a life with Vesper, so his return to work is a choice made after a loss, not a default. The introduction is less a catchphrase than a statement of who he decided to become.

Because Bond earns his 00 status in the opening sequence in Prague, the ending reads as the final stage of the same origin. The coldest moment in the film comes from its most personal loss. The motive for Vesper's choice stays partly open, since she only probably traded the money for his life, and that ambiguity keeps the betrayal from reading as simple villainy.

Mr. White is the other loose end. He is a figure from a larger organization, and his survival leaves that organization as an open threat for later films, which is why the story continues with Quantum of Solace next in the series order.

Casino Royale (2006) was filmed mainly in the Czech Republic, with further shooting in the Bahamas, Italy and at Pinewood Studios in the UK. The story moves between Prague, Montenegro, Miami, Venice and Lake Como, and the production covered that map with a handful of real bases.

• Prague and Barrandov Studios, Czech Republic: the main base and the location of studio work. Filming began at Barrandov.
• The Bahamas: tropical scenes.
• Italy: the Venice and Lake Como sequences, which carry the ending of the film.
• Pinewood Studios, UK: studio work.

Venice and Lake Como are the two Italian stops, and they are where the story closes.

Eva Green's casting as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006) was announced on 16 February 2006 (Screen Daily).

• Box Office Mojo lists the budget as $150 million, while The Numbers lists it as $102 million.
• Three writers share the script credit: Robert Wade, Neal Purvis and Paul Haggis.
• Phil Meheux was the cinematographer, and David Arnold wrote the score.
• The film runs 144 minutes.

The film is counted as an official EON entry, unlike the unofficial Casino Royale (1967) film and Never Say Never Again, which were both made outside the EON series.